


A Peasant

by onlyhereforellick



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-ep 17x06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-25 19:24:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21361441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyhereforellick/pseuds/onlyhereforellick
Summary: So this is what true love felt like.
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 11
Kudos: 66





	A Peasant

**Author's Note:**

> fluff to counteract the other angst post-ep 😘

Ellie didn’t sulk. 

Well. Usually. 

Tonight she gave herself a pass. She sulked her way home, she sulked in the kitchen throwing together cereal for dinner, she sulked in her sweatpants on the couch to a Lifetime movie. Then she sulked a little more when she realized they weren’t _her_ sweatpants, they were Nick’s that he’d left here a while back. 

With a strangled shout she clumsily jumped off the couch and pulled them off with a huff. Throwing them in the corner with a more force than was necessary, she sunk back down into her blanket fortress and soggy half-finished cereal sans pants. Who needed pants anyway, it wasn’t like she was expecting anyone.  _No because Nick was on a date_.  Her groan echoed off the empty apartment walls, likely heard by her neighbors. 

She tried to refocus on the movie, but it was useless. Watching a girl finally get the guy she’d been pining for after the guy realized he’d been blind to love was not what she needed right now. With a humph she turned off the TV, threw her unfinished bowl in the sink and headed to her room. A quick splash of water on her face and brushing of her teeth, and Ellie slid under the covers. Laying there staring at the ceiling, her mind refused to stop racing. She couldn’t help fight the feeling that something was missing... Another groan and she was flinging back the covers and stalking to the living room. Reluctantly she yanked the sweatpants from off the floor and shoved each leg in, pulling them on roughly. Ellie stomped back into the bedroom and got into bed for the second time. Immediately, her mind settled, and she tried not to think about how unsettling it _should_ have been that she needed Nick’s sweatpants to sleep. Sulking done for the night, Ellie rolled to her side and attempted sleep. 

———

Waking with a start, Ellie jolted to a sitting position. She rubbed her tired eyes as she squinted to make out the time on her nightstand clock—it read four in the morning. 

Well, longer than she expected to sleep, even with tossing and turning all night unable to not dream of Nick on his date. 

Sighing aloud, resigned to starting her day this early, she grabbed her phone and rolled off the bed heading straight for a hot shower. She was going to need it. 

Nearly thirty minutes later, Ellie finally got out of the shower after the water had turned cold. Slowly she finished the rest of her morning routine—washing her face, blow drying her hair, applying a light coat of make up to hide the bags under her eyes, and throwing on her go-to black jeans and slouchy sweater combo. She tried to drag her feet, yet it was still only five thirty, the sun wasn’t even up, and she had nothing left to do before work. For once, Ellie had no appetite, but she knew she had to eat _something_, can’t catch bad guys on an empty stomach—or whatever Barbara Bishop would probably say. 

Pulling out the same cereal as the night before, she plopped down at her table. She poured a hefty amount of the store brand’s version of cocoa crispies into a bowl and pulled out her phone to distract herself. She did not expect to see an unread text from Nick that came in at 5 o’clock asking if she wanted to catch breakfast at the diner at six thirty before work. 

The gallon of milk hovered over her bowl as she paused to weigh her options. Almost immediately she set that milk right back down and dumped her untouched cereal back in the box.  _Who was she kidding- weighing her options?_ She would not be passing up breakfast with Nick, even if selfishly she hoped he’d be spilling details about a disastrous date last night. She checked the time, fifteen minutes till the time Nick would be expecting her. Hurriedly she put her breakfast back and fired off a text saying she’d be there a few minutes late. 

———

Rolling up to the diner, the parking lot was weirdly empty for the early morning breakfast rush. She parked next to Nick’s bike near the edge of the lot and made her way to the front door. A light bell tinkered when she pushed the door open, but that barely registered as the smell of autumn slammed her senses almost immediately. 

Ellie didn’t even recognize the diner, the fall decor overtaking every square inch of space to be had. There were pumpkin pyramids in every corner, with baby squash littering the tabletops and bar. Tall straw displays with maize interspersed were seen along the walls between booths. Red and black checkered tablecloths were placed on every table with an overflowing cornucopia of squash, pumpkins, pine cones and some small object she couldn’t identify. A new red carpet lined the path from the door to the back, small bushels of hay and straw placed expertly every so often to line the way. She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply and took in the familiar scent of straw, pumpkin, and crisp— _was that tater tots?_ Her eyes snapped open as she finally looked to the far end of the diner where Nick was standing, a sheepish smile on his face. 

A warmth radiated through Ellie like no other. Warily she wanted to tamp it down, Nick had just been on a date with another woman, but she couldn’t help herself. If her suspicions were correct, Nick had set this all up—just for her. 

She slowly made her way down the red carpeted aisle through a deserted diner except for the one person she cared to see. Ellie stopped less than a foot from Nick, her eyes drawn down to his hands holding a straw object. Nick noticed her gaze and lifted his hands and revealed a crown of sorts, it was circular and had points, but it appeared to be straw-braided— _ just like what the Tater Tots Grand Marshall wears _ _._ Her heart dropped to her stomach and her lungs squeezed. Did he really...

Without any explanation, Nick did a slow, short bow as he finally addressed her, “My Queen.” He delicately placed the straw crown on her head, fingers running through her hair as he released it. He paused to push a lock of hair behind her ear and she audibly sighed. Nick’s pupils dilated at the noise. 

Ellie had to know—“Did you really do _all_ of this,” she looked around at the decorated diner, almost an exact replica of the Tater Tots Parade back home, right down to the tater tots in the fall cornucopia, “for _me_?” She brought her eyes back to him and the tried to hide the hope brewing in them. 

His hand hadn’t left the side of her head as he moved to cup her face, rubbing her jaw with his calloused thumb. Shivers ripped through her at the intimate contact. He spoke tenderly as he replied, “Of course I did. You deserve to feel like a queen, Ellie.”

“How- how did you know?” She still couldn’t believe it looked just like her hometown. “How did you get it done so fast?”

He tucked his chin slightly and looked almost embarrassed, “I may have called your mom after we left last night, and I may have bribed the diner to let me buy out their late night and early morning crowd.”

Ellie’s ears must have deceived her, “Nick- you WHAT? Why did you buy out the diner?? What were you thinking?” Ellie was frantic now. 

Nick took the half step closer to effectively close the gap between them as he brought his other hand to her face. “Ellie it was worth it to see your face. I’d do it again and again if it’d make you happy.”

The insecure side of her must have shone through at that moment because Nick’s brow furrowed as he gazed into her eyes.

“Does- does this not make you happy, El? I can take it all down if this brings back too many bad memories- I didn’t mean to, I thought maybe replacing old memories- but I can take it down, here I’ll take it down-“ Nick had started to turn around and grab a nearby baby squash to clean up. Ellie grabbed his wrist and gave a small tug for him to face her. 

Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at the man she loved, the man that knew her heart so well. But he was also the man who just went on a date with another woman. 

“Ellie, you’re crying. Let me clean this up. I’m so sorry,” Nick urged her. 

A sniffle escaped before she could stop it. “I’m not- these are happy tears, well a little sad, but mostly stupid happy tears.”

His furrowed brow deepened, “Why sad?”

“Nick, you did all of this for  _me_. ” She said it simply like that should be enough of an explanation, but his scowl only continued. “I’m not the girl you just went on a date with last night...” she tried to lay it out for him despite the pain it caused her to say the words. 

Nick’s expression softened instantly and he let out a small chuckle. “Oh, you mean my session with Dr. Grace last night? Yeah she helped, actually.”

Ellie was speechless.  _He was seeing Dr. Grace? For...therapy? _

“I told you I thought it’d be good for me. I needed to uh- work out my feelings, and things.” Nick hedged, scratching the back of his head with his free hand—she still had one in her grasp. 

“So...you’re not dating anyone?” Ellie needed to clarify before she could let her heart soar like it was begging to. 

Nick chuckled a little louder this time, until his expression turned serious. “Well, there is this one girl—“ Ellie sucked in a breath through her teeth, “Turns out she’s actually a queen though, so hopefully she’s okay dating a peasant like myself...” Nick had tucked his chin again, but looked up at her through his eyelashes with a hint of a smirk on his face. 

Ellie surprised herself and Nick when she yanked on his wrist, crashing him into her. Lips collided and she finally gave into her most secret desire. Kissing Nick was something she’d never forget—_though she hoped she’d never have the chance to_— a small voice whispered in the recesses of her mind. 

Breaking apart to catch their breath, Nick touched his forehead to hers. He whispered softly, “Did you notice?”

“That you didn’t use scarecrows? Yeah I noticed,” Ellie whispered back with a huge happy grin threatening to split her face. It was the only thing different from her hometown’s parade, and it meant the world to her. 

She placed a quick peck to his lips before pulling back again to voice her gratitude, “Thank you, Nick. Really- for everything.” She hoped he knew just how much this touched her heart. 

“Anytime, Ellie. You are my queen, quite literally.” His voice was so firm and sure that a tear spilled over on it’s own accord. 

_So this is what true love felt like._


End file.
